The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1887-07-14
I. A. EDISON, THE WIZARD.
TELLING ABOUT HIS EXPERIMENTS
IN SUBMARINE SIGNALING.

The Captains of Vessels Seven Miles Apart
Can Talk With Each Other--In PhiIadeI-
phia Buying Electrical Apparatus for
His Laboratory.
A smooth faced, thick-set, youthful
looking man, attired in gray suit and
accompanied by two handsome young
women, stepped briskly up to the desk
of tho Continental Hotel Office and regis
tered in plain round back hand,
"Thomas A. Edison, Orange, N. j." It
was the wizard of electricity. The young
women were his wife and sister .in-law.
lie appeared to be enjoying the best of
health, and said the stories about his
being at the point of death while in
Florida were without foundation. He
said he had come to Philadelphia to
purchase electrical apparatus for his new
laboratory at Llewellen, n. j.
TWO MILLIONS IN EXPERIMENTS.
The laboratory, the erection of which
has just begun, will, when finished, be
as large as the University of Pennsyl-
vania buildings and will be devoted en-
tirely to experimenting. The machine
ry will be of the largest and most i'm
proved patterns, the machine shop alone
being 2OG feet long. Mr.. Edison, in
speaking of tho cost of experimenting,
said he had expended over $2,0O0,00O in
experimenting, but as it was strictly in
the line of his business he had found it
money well invested. In speaking of
his Florida trip he said he was SO we'll
pleased with the climate that he had
erected permanent laboratory on the
banks of the Caloosahatchie river, where
he will continue his experiments every
winter. He has erected o number Of
plants in several Florida
towns, but he has not devoted much
time to plants.
SIGNALING UNDER WATER,
One of his most interesting expert
ments was in submarine signaling, by
which messages can be transmitted from
ship to ship by means of steam whistles
operated by keys in the same manner as
Instruments. All his expe-
riments havo SO fur been confined to the
waters Of CalOosahatchie, whore he has
succeeded in conveying intolligible mes
sagcs distance Of one milo. Tho prin-
ciplo on which he will endeavor to per-
feet his experiment is the remarkable
facility afforded by water for transmit
ting sound.
Divers in the ocean have heard the
swish Of steamers wheels fifteen miles
away and MIR. Edison thinks he can
transmit his message from ship to shlpa
distance of Gt least seven miles. What
he purposes doing after he has perfected
IA 10 tn bou l,n l.,
steamers equipped with the steam whis-
ties and transmitters. Under the water
line Of each steamer will be sounder.
connected with the captains cabin by a.
thin transmitting wire running through,
a tube. When tho captain of ono vessei
wants to signal another he will sit down
to his keyboard, turn tho steam on his
whistle, manipulate tho keys and send
the message out into the waves that
break against the sounder. This sound
Will pass unbroken from wave to wave
with remarkable velocity until it runsup
against tho sounder of some vessel or
vessels which may happen to be within
reach OF the volume of sound.
AS soon as the wave containing the
sound strikes tho sounder on the hull of
,he vessel or vessels within reach, the
message will run over tho electrical wire.
% The captains cabin, where it will ring
IN electrical bell. An attendant will
hen take down tho message as it comes.
rom the water, by means of telegraphic.
Keys, as comfortably and correctly as
hough he wore sitting in one of jay
dould's Western Union Telegraph Offices
ccolylng news about one of Jay Gould's
zig deals.
PASSING IT ALONG.
After the message has been received
he captain can swing his vessel around.
md continue the message through seven
niles of water, in tho same direction,
Until it strikes another steamer, when
he operation may be repeated until the
whole breadth of the ocean has been
'rosscd. 1t will also be useful as means
If signaling by vessel in distress.
MIR. Edison seemed confident that his
would meet with success.
'ut regrets that he cannot send the mes
ago by electricity, instead of gteamor
whistle.